Libraries' Leading Roles In Fiction

The late astronomer Carl Sagan once wrote, "We are the only species on the planet — so far as we know — to have invented a communal memory stored neither in our genes nor in our brains. The warehouse of this memory is called the library."

An NPR series is taking a look at public libraries and their place in American life.

Arts critic Bob Mondello asked if he could broaden that mandate a little, to look at the library's place in America's fictional worlds.